W. H. R. Rivers

W. H. R. Rivers FRS FRAI
Portrait by Henry Maull
Born	William Halse Rivers Rivers (1864-03-12)12 March 1864 Chatham, Kent, England
Died	4 June 1922(1922-06-04) (aged 58) Cambridge, England
Alma mater	St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College
Known for	1898 Torres Strait Islands expedition Experiments on nerve regeneration with Henry Head Treating soldiers during the First World War who had shell shock
Awards	Honorary M.A from the University of Cambridge, 1897 Croonian Lecturer, 1906 Royal Medal, 1915
Scientific career
Fields	Anthropology ethnology neurology psychiatry psychology
Institutions	University College, London University of Cambridge Craiglockhart War Hospital
Doctoral students	Charles Samuel Myers William McDougall John Layard Robert H. Thouless William James Perry
Signature

William Halse Rivers Rivers FRS FRAI (12 March 1864 – 4 June 1922) was an English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist and psychiatrist known for treatment of First World War officers suffering shell shock, so they could be returned to combat. Rivers' most famous patient was the war poet Siegfried Sassoon, with whom he remained close friends until his own sudden death.

During the early years of the 20th century, Rivers developed new lines of psychological research. He was the first to use a double-blind procedure in investigating physical and psychological effects of consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol and drugs. For a time he directed centres for psychological studies at two colleges, and he was made a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He also participated in the Torres Strait Islands expedition of 1898 and his consequent seminal work on the subject of kinship.